


There's No Remedy For Memory

by DramaticMarvel



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-08
Updated: 2014-05-08
Packaged: 2018-01-24 01:50:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1587245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticMarvel/pseuds/DramaticMarvel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers had lived a weird life.  However it was only going to get even weirder when he's sent to stakeout the old Strexcorp agent who happens to be his (reported) dead best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's No Remedy For Memory

Being a government science experiment was weird. Being frozen alive was weird, or so he somewhat recalls. Being woken up and finding out he was in a desert; well that was one of the stranger experiences. But life with the Night Vale Avengers…that was a lifetime of weird all rolled into one, and Steve had only being in part of the team since he was unfrozen a little over a year ago.

Okay so what we need is more cameras. Lots of cameras. Especially in the science buildings. You can never trust scientist.” Tony Stark said from the head of the table, feet propped up on an empty chair next to him. From what Steve had learned from mostly word of mouth, Tony Stark was richer than God (a general god, not to be confused the the number of deities that roamed around Night Vale), could build about anything out of whatever junk you gave him, had a strong urge to make things flash and explode, and loved to flirt with anything that moved no matter how many times he was punched (or shot/shocked/choked/stabbed/and generally maimed in Natasha’s case).

Wrinkling his brow, Bruce Banner frowned. “I’m a scientist.” Bruce was one of the first genuinely nice people that Steve at met upon waking up in Night Vale. Of course that is what made it so odd that he turned into this giant green rage monster. Apparently it had something to do with drinking the water down by the old lake that wasn’t actually a lake because they were in the middle of the desert. According to Bruce he tried it for science, whatever that meant. 

“Pssh, don’t even listen to him.” Clint Barton said breezily. “If anything he wants the camera’s so he can get more videos of himself to watch.” There was a lot Steve knew about Clint, and most of it would require years of counseling to forget. From what Steve understood, Clint used to be in a traveling circus. Though there was a lot of fuzzy spots which involved criminology, tequila, and something about being a secret agent of a made up government. Most of Clint’s answers raised more questions than gave answers but Steve figured it was best just to nod and agree rather than ask questions that would require copious amount of alcohol that Steve was immune to anyway. Anyway it was best to just nod and agree.

“Please I have plenty of camera’s for that.” He said giving a playful wink to Natasha who threw a ninja star that breezed past Tony, unfazed by the common occurrence. Natasha Romanoff, if that was her real name, was the scariest thing that Steve had ever seen and he had seen Hydra agents and Nazi soldiers. Though Natasha didn’t seem to mind him, which Steve figured was a win. At least that meant that she was 34% less likely to kill him when his back was turned. According to Clint these were good odd, the best in the room in fact.

“What is even the point to these cameras?” Thor’s voice bellowed from the other end of the table, as he smashed his fist against the table. “We are not here for security, we are here to act and protect these people.” Apparently Thor was a god. A god with long flowing blond hair who liked to smash hammers on the table and drink lots of coffee. Steve figured it was best not to ask too many questions to a guy whom he had once seen bring down a building because they stole the last pop tart (even though they later found out it was his brother Loki, who made his brother look sane).

“Better question, who is going to pay for these calendars?” Steve asked, finally feeling the need to end this conversation. Mostly because judging by Thor’s half full cup of coffee they only had a bit more time until this turned into another all out fight and they were still waiting for all the repairs to be done after the last all out fight. Though in his defense, Tony had been acting like an ass. 

Tony rolled his eyes. “How does any good fundraiser work. Nude calendar. I call October and December.”

Natasha raised her eyebrow as Clint burst out laughing. “I’ll take June.” Thor said, suddenly forgetting that he didn’t even want the camera’s in the first place but not wanting to be left out of picking a prime month.

“I’m not doing that.” Bruce said plainly. 

“No, we’re not.” Echoed Steve. Steve was pretty sure if Tony actually asked nicely, Bruce would if just to make Tony happy and there was no way he was going to parade himself around like that again. Well, at least not for stupid cameras. 

“Damn fucking right we’re not.” A voice echoed from the doorway where Nick Fury stood for a moment before strolling in with a stack of papers in his arms. “And not just because I really don’t want to see Tony’s naked ass for two months.”

Steve grinned at Fury, “Actually Tony requested two months.”

“Oh hell no.” Fury said, dropping the stack of paper on the table. “And anyway we have bigger problems than Tony wanted to be a damn peeping tom.” 

Tony feigned hurt only to have Bruce give him a warning look. Natasha, being the closest to the pile of papers picked up on of them and looked at it, her lips pursed in what could almost be a frown. “What’s this?” She asked.

“Strexcorp.” There was a collective groan at the table which was cut off by Fury giving them a silencing one eye glare. “As I was saying,” giving a pointed look at Clint and Tony who were still making faces about the topic. “They’ve finally decided to start sending soldiers into the city.”

“Took them long enough.” Clint muttered, having already lost a bet to Tony on when Strexcorp agents were going to start flocking to the city. Clint gave it a week and had to sleep in his nest for a week when he lost. 

Bruce raised his hand slightly. “Aren’t they already in the city? I mean there are plenty of them looming around. It’s not like they’ve been secret about it. Cecil has made plenty of comments about the ones running the radio station.” It was true, they had heard the radio host complain about them enough times on the radio as well as whenever they ran into him.

“When duh.” Fury said rolling his eye. “But they this time they sent an actual agent. You know one that might actually do some real damage.”

“How do you know all this.” Natasha asked, not looking up from the paper she was looking at.

“Internet.” Fury said plainly. “And a few sources that will remain nameless. And thanks to them we got an address. Which means I want one of you to go to this person’s house and figure out what the hell we’re up against.”

“Not it.” Tony, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, and to Steve’s surprise Thor all said in unison.  
Steve cursed. Damnit. He really hated his new friends sometimes.

\---  


Strexcorp’s was a huge business. But apparently they couldn’t afford to put their best agent up in anything more than a rundown apartment near the Arby’s. Which was nice because that meant that Steve could swing by and grab dinner before heading back after the Avengers Tower, which was supposed to be a secret expect that Tony decided to put their name on it in big blinking lights (“What? It’s not like we’re afraid.” Tony explained when Fury had come in practically foaming at the mouth). Of course if this stakeout kept up its pace it would be unlikely that he would be back anytime before the next morning. Apparently Strexcorp did actually teach their agents how to keep their blinds closed. This would have been so much easier if they had given Steve X-Ray vision with the serum.

Stakeouts were never Steve’s favorite kind of mission, seeing as it mostly meant spending a lot of time sitting around and waiting. It was for that reason that he usually left this sort of thing to Natasha and Clint who usually loved this sort of thing for unfathomable reasons. Except that apparently tonight Clint had plans, Steve didn’t ask for fear of actually knowing, and Natasha just brushed it off with no explanation. It wasn’t that he completely hated stakeouts, it was just that he hated doing them alone. At least back in the army, a thousand lifetimes ago, he usually had Bucky around or one of the other soldiers to entertain him.

It was around 1 am when a figure finally emerge from the building. Steve had been sitting on a bench trying to pretend to read a book, trying in the sense that he had half finished reading it. It was only by chance that the chapter had ended and he was once again reminded that he was supposed to be doing a job and looked up just in time to see the figure come out from the second story apartment. It didn’t looked like the normal Hooded Figures, for one thing this one didn’t have a hood, but instead a mess of long dark hair that hid his face. 

Setting his book down, Steve made his way down the opposite side of the street, craning his neck to check what car the figure got into.  But the figure didn’t move, it stood there staring straight in Steve’s direction. Steve paused, pretending to look at a flying on one of the light poles, while looking at the figure, who now Steve could now make out the bulky figure of a man, who was just staring in Steve’s direction. This is was another reason Steve wasn’t good at stakeouts, he wasn’t really good at blending in. 

Oh well, if he was caught he might as well just go for it, he figured before crossing the street. This seemed to get the man’s attention as he backed up slowly into one of the motorcycles that were lined up in front of the building. Now that he was on the sidewalk he could see that the man was quite muscular, though Steve noted that he was missing his arm. Where his left arm was supposed to be, instead was a large metal arm with a large triangle with an equally large orange letter S in the middle. It was nice to see that Strexcorps was keeping up with their usual spot on secrecy. 

The man seemed to notice Steve staring at his arm and looked up to meet Steve’s eyes, the man’s own eyes now peaking out from beneath his tangled locks. Bright brown eyes that looked so empty. No, they weren't empty, they were lost because Steve knew those eyes and he knew the life that had once filled them. It didn't matter that it was late at night and there were shadows casting the two of them in a darkness that was only illuminated by the Arby's sign glowing in the distance. Even if it had just been a fragment of those eyes he would still have these memories rush him like wind on a cool November day in New York because they were Bucky’s eyes. And every bit of those eyes held some part of Steve. 

New York, where the two of them went to baseball games and Bucky would by him hot dogs that he had saved up his money to buy for the two of them.

Brooklyn nights, where the two would chase each other down the street, Bucky running at a slower pace to give Steve a fighting chance of keeping up with him.

Saying goodbye to him as Bucky shipped off to a war Steve so was so desperate himself to be apart of that he had been willing to lie.

Seeing Bucky, lying on that table and being so relieved to see him alive because Steve would have led 1,000 suicide missions if it meant there was even a small chance of Bucky being alive. 

Watching in slow motion as Bucky’s grip failed him and he plummeted into the white snow beneath him and wanting so bad to follow him to the end of the line.

“Bucky?” Steve stammered. It was a question he didn’t need to ask. He knew the answer. 

The man, no...Bucky, tilted his head to the side, “Who the hell is Bucky?” He stared at Steve, who opened his mouth only to close it again. 

No. No this was Bucky. Steve knew it. He had seen Bucky’s face almost every night in his dreams and in his nightmares. Steve didn’t even realize he had taken another step forward until his foot hit the ground.

A look of panic swept across Bucky’s face like some sort of wild animal. Steve tried to back step as quickly and calculated as possible but Bucky had already jumped on the motorcycle and had taken off down the street leaving Steve standing there alone once again wonder where his friend had gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted at dramaticmarvel on tumblr.


End file.
